"I thought I was performing a good deed for the public," said Coffey,
of Decatur.

"I didn't realize how serious it was until we were in the back of the
police car and the officer called in and said, 'I'm bringing in two
Caucasian females, one born in 1923.' "

Police charged Coffey and Tune with misdemeanor third-degree
trespassing. They released the women later Saturday on recognizance.

Each woman said it was her first time to be arrested. The two
advocates for natural foods could now face fines.

"I believe in this so strongly that I stifled my inhibitions and did
it," Coffey said of her petitioning.

In an e-mail to Kroger, Coffey identified herself as health educator,
councilor and public relations officer of Mothers and Concerned Others,
and a member of Vegetarian Union of North America and International
Vegetarian Union.

The women said they and three other members of Mothers and Concerned
Others were trying to raise consumer awareness of genetically engineered
and modified foods. These are "Frankenstein foods," according to a press
release to local media.

Many products on most supermarket shelves include genetically
engineered food. The food is modified to increase nutritional quality,
or boost crop yields by making it drought and pest resistant.

Opponents, such as Coffey and Tune, say the food could cause allergic
reactions in humans or pollute the environment by cross-pollinating with
natural varieties.

Coffey and Tune, who identifies herself as an environmentalist, said
they were helping Greenpeace during a national petition drive, the
Supermarket Campaign Week of Action.

They hope to get supermarket chains to remove genetically engineered
ingredients from store-br and products and ultimately the entire chain.
They would also like the federal government to require labeling on such
food products.

"I feel like I grew up in the best of worlds, and my grandchildren
are growing up in the worst of worlds. I'm tired of taxpayers being
totally ignored," said Tune, of Priceville.

Decatur's city judge found Jean Tune, 79, and Gerry Coffey, 62,
guilty of misdemeanor trespassing because of their refusal to leave a
Kroger parking lot Oct. 26. They were in the parking lot distributing
leaflets that described the dangers of genetically modified food.

The conviction did not seem to concern the two women.

Coffey's husband, Ray Coffey, said he is proud of his wife.

"Now she's a certified activist," he said.

Municipal Judge Billy Cook said he based his ruling not on what the
women were communicating, but on the fact that they would not leave
private property when told to do so.

"I think you were compelled by law to move to a lawful place. I'm not
making a judgment about your message," Cook said.

$50 fines, no court costs

He fined each woman $50, and did not charge them for court costs.

Attorney Greg Reeves, who represented Tune and Coffey without cost,
said he will appeal the ruling. He must file appeal papers by Jan. 23.
An appeal would automatically give the defendants a new trial in Morgan
County Circuit Court — with a right to a jury.

Police arrested the women Oct. 26 in the parking lot of Kroger on
Beltline Road Southeast. The women refused to leave the parking lot when
an assistant manager ordered them off.

Coffey said she had hoped that more people would turn out to protest
the prosecution today.

"I was a little disappointed that more people didn't show up, but I
understand. Who wants to get out of bed for a 7 a.m. trial in the middle
of the winter?" Coffey said.

Reeves argued that the First Amendment right to free speech protected
the women from prosecution even though they were on private property.

"They were not raising a ruckus. In our country, political action has
always been given preference. This involves political speech. That is
sacred in this country, even over trespassing," Reeves told the court.

Cook did not permit Coffey or Tune to testify about their reasons for
distributing leaflets because he deemed their message irrelevant.

No witnesses from Kroger appeared at the hearing. Neither side
presented evidence on who owns the parking lot, which the business
shares with Kmart and several other businesses.

Fine due Feb. 7

Cook gave the women until Feb. 7 to pay the fine.

When they were arrested, Tune and Coffey were collecting signatures
and distributing leaflets in conjunction with a national supermarket
campaign led by GE-Free Markets Coalition and Greenpeace. The groups
want to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. Most European
countries already require such labeling.

Coffey said she and Tune were the only women arrested for the effort
in the United States. The arrests gained national attention, including
spots on radio talk shows and support from Greenpeace.

"I saw nothing wrong with telling Kroger shoppers that 60 percent of
the processed food they buy contains genetically engineered ingredients.
I had no idea Kroger management would have us arrested for telling the
truth about their food," Coffey said.

Asked whether she understood that she had a duty to leave the parking
lot when asked to do so, Tune said she had a higher duty.

"I think it is my duty to do this because people need to be
informed," Tune said.

Some examples of foods that Greenpeace said include genetically
modified ingredients are baby formula and teething biscuits, pancake
mixes, chocolate products, most bread, most breakfast cereals, many
brands of cookies, many crackers, most pastas, most frozen pizzas,
potato chips, almost all canned sodas and most major-brand soups.

Environmental and health groups claim that genetically engineered
foods have not been adequately tested for safety. They also argue that
accidental cross-pollination with unmodified crops could damage or
destroy species of natural crops.

Monsanto Corp., the largest producer of genetically modified foods,
has said that the foods create no additional health risks. The company
says in its Web site that the genetic modifications it makes on crops
are no more dangerous than the selective breeding of plants and animals
that farmers have performed for years.

Two grandmothers convicted of trespassing while they distributed
leaflets about genetically engineered foods did not have to go to trial
Monday because Kroger dropped all charges.

Municipal Judge Billy Cook convicted Gerry Coffey, 62, and Jean Tune,
80, both of Decatur, of trespassing on the Kroger parking lot on
Beltline Road Southwest. Coffey and Tune appealed the decision to Morgan
County Circuit Court and were scheduled to start the trial Monday.

Attempts to contact Kroger officials about why they dropped the
charges were unsuccessful.

Coffey said she was nervous about the trial, but is disappointed it
did not go forward. She hoped the trial would be a forum for educating
people about the danger of genetically engineered food.

Coffey and Tune distributed the leaflets in October in conjunction
with an information drive by GE-Free Markets Coalition and Greenpeace.
Kroger, they said, is a major retailer of unlabeled genetically
engineered foods.

"At the end I was hoping to go to trial. I prepared myself, even if I
would have to go to jail," Coffey said.

The women's attorney, Greg Reeves, said his clients' conviction will
not be on their record.

"There should not be a record of a conviction. Now, with that said, I
don't think that there is any way to 'erase' an arrest," Reeves said.

A study by the American Medical Association determined there was no
need for special labeling rules for genetically engineered foods, but
the British Medical Association came to a different conclusion.

Can't evaluate risks

While the AMA study found no short-term health risk from genetically
engineered foods, the study determined it could not evaluate long-term
risks.

Advocates for special labeling of genetically engineered foods note
that the European Union, Japan, Australia and other countries require
labeling of genetically engineered foods.

A bill pending in Congress, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to
Know Act of 2003, would require labeling of all genetically modified
foods.

A leader in the fight against genetically engineered foods is
Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food Safety. An attorney for the
organization, Joe Mendelson, said the primary concern about genetically
engineered foods is the lack of testing.

New allergens

"There are a number of health risks associated with genetically
engineered food. The first is a concern that you may create new
allergens. These foods create new proteins that have never before been
in the food supply. We don't know if those new proteins cause allergies.
It also may exacerbate a known allergen," Mendelson said.

"There is also the possibility of creating novel toxic components.
Potatoes and tomatoes have low levels of toxins; there is a concern that
genetic engineering could increase those levels.

Reduces nutrition

Mendelson said studies have shown that genetic engineering can reduce
the nutritional value of some foods.

"You also have the issue of antibiotic resistance. Most of these
plants use marker genes, which are genes engineered into the plant. Most
marker genes are resistant to antibiotics. ... The issue is, if you
consistently put this into your gut, whether it's going to create a
problem when you go to use regular antibiotics," Mendelson said.

Mendelson said the risks of genetically engineered foods are greater
than that created by most foods refined through traditional breeding.

"In the past, you might be breeding a corn plant with a corn plant.
The proteins from the new corn plant have been in the food supply for a
long time," Mendelson said.

"There is a little risk with traditional breeding, but we are talking
compatible species. We're not putting in genetic material that's never
been in the plant before. Certainly traditional breeding doesn't have
antibiotic genes in it," Mendelson said.

Coffey may avoid private parking lots now, but she said she is more
determined than ever to spread the word about genetically engineered
foods.

Genetically Engineered Agricultural Products
A recent article on CNN regarding women in their 70's checking the
safety of America's food supply does not begin to put a dent in the real
problem of correcting food safety nor does it address America's fat
epidemic.

A lawsuit brought against 80 year-old Jean Tune and myself by KROGER
Supermarket and the City of Decatur, AL, was unaccountably dropped last
Friday.

Perhaps not coincidentally, I learned KROGER is engrossed in an
ongoing attempt to buy out a large natural food chain (see below) that
adamantly campaigns against Genetic Engineering.

I wonder if dropping our case might have something to do with the
fact we two grandmothers' plight to educate consumers that 2/3rds of the
food they buy contains untested, unlabeled Genetically Engineered
Organisms which independent studies link with miscarriages, anemia,
cancer, etc., generated a lot of media coverage?

I realize we are most likely regarded as a minute nuisance they wish
to dismiss, but every little bit we can do might gradually make an
impact.

We felt consumers should know that without their knowledge or consent
they and their loved ones are are being used as human guinea pigs
because 2/3rds of the food on their grocery store shelves contain
untested, unlabeled genetically modified organisms. Moreover, the EPA
and USDA are involved in this heinous deception.